Hi!
The above picture serves no real purpose except maybe to bump up your cute quotient for the week.
She was a bit sleepy, and by the looks of it, a bit bored, as well.
Well, this week was a good one for providing the sleepy, but was anything but boring!
Monday was my reading in Delisle. It went very well. The teachers and students were all very welcoming and kind. I was even permitted to witness a bit of the rehearsing that was going on for a talent show that was being put on by the kids the following evening. I'll bet it was a great show!
From there, the week became a practice in patience and frustration, but ended on a high note, so all is well.
The patience and frustration came in when I found out the ladder we had ordered for a customer's motorhome, (an order I had put in before Christmas) was in for us to pick up. This was great news, as this was the second ladder sent. The first one was broken when it showed up.
So Thursday, I took the hour long trek in -35C windchill to go and pick it up. Like I said, there was a -35C windchill that day, and securing the ladder in the bed of the truck took a bit of doing, as it weighs pretty much nothing and could easily blow away.
So, after fighting with tangled ratchet straps, then stopping to tighten their hold on the box a couple of times on the way back to the shop, eventually hefting the spare tire on top of it to weigh it down, I finally made it back to the shop in one piece.
Imagine my delight upon opening the box to find they had sent the wrong ladder! Now, I don't mean just a little bit wrong, I mean, a foot and a half too short, completely different supports, not remotely the ladder I ordered, kind of wrong.
After sending every measurement possible, accompanied by several pictures, I have a hard time understanding how such a mistake can happen. But, we are human, so they do.
Now, this, after having to order a second time because of the damaged first ladder, creates another huge delay. As I mentioned, I had ordered the original ladder before Christmas, knowing our client was planning a February holiday, we had plenty of time. Now, not so much.
After a pretty animated conversation, in which there was a short-lived, but very quickly snuffed-out hope on the shipper's part that we would incur any of the costs of sending this new ladder with such urgency, I have been assured the proper ladder will be delivered to our shop doorstep no later than Wednesday.
This will give us about ten minutes to install it, if we have any hopes of not delaying our client's holiday in any way.
Yup, patience and frustration.
But, like I said, the week ended on a good note, so all is well.
Yup, this week, the copyright and ISBN number for my next book have been secured, and now, after I get the story dismantled and prepped for Valerie, the illustrator, it will be well on it's way to being completed and in hand before the end of the school year! WooHoo!
Then, today, we helped our daughter, Sarah and her boyfriend unpack in their new condo. It's such a nice place. I'm so excited for, and proud of both of them. Buying your first place is a big deal!
We topped the night off by going to a movie. Anchorman 2 definitely provided a much needed laugh.
Life rarely, if ever, goes according to plan. Delays and mistakes happen. It's a bit of a bitter pill to swallow when we feel like we've taken every preventative measure to assure a positive outcome.
But, what can you do?
I like to think, when things like this happen, that the ripples caused by these frustrations will somehow, in some way, touch someone in it's wake in a positive way. It might be the guy putting the ladder together, someone in the delivery process, or maybe our client himself. Maybe a day's delay keeps him and his family from being involved with an accident or something. Who knows, right?
As for the upcoming week..............
We have a fridge to finish, month end bookkeeping, orders to put in, jobs to process, some baby snuggles to sneak, and then next weekend some much needed R&R!
Well, that about does for me this week.....oh before I go, I've had a few people asking where they can get my books. They are available at McNally Robinson in Saskatoon and Winnipeg, online at www.margyreidbooks.com and I always have a few at the shop if you're in the neighbourhood!
Until next time, I'll leave you with this wish.......................
May every frustration carry with it at least a hint of something great.
May every trial of your patience be rewarded with at least one pleasure without a wait.
May you experience an unexpected appreciation by someone you hold close to your heart.
May you reciprocate that gratitude with incredible grace, a painter's stroke on priceless art.
May the time you spend, this week, be worth it's weight in gold.
May the time have meaning, make it powerful, make it bold.
Until next time........................
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